Adjust your lifestyle: Smart, healthy decisions are vital in the fight
Published 10:30 am Friday, September 30, 2016
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When you are standing at a crossroads regarding your health, the choice you make can be the difference between life and death. Springville’s Danielle Tucker found herself in that situation a few months ago.
Danielle went in for her annual mammogram on June 16. The doctor saw a concerning spot on the mammogram and sent her to have an ultrasound done. She went to her OBGYN, who suspected the spot was malignant and sent her to a surgeon for a biopsy.
Thankfully, the results of the biopsy showed that the spot was benign. While this would normally be a cause for celebration, the surgeon told Danielle that she was concerned that the biopsy may have not been thorough enough to render an accurate result.
Acting on that suspicion, the surgeon performed a second test, and on June 26 Danielle was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer.
“The early days are the hardest,” Danielle said. “It’s when you are still reeling from the diagnosis and are facing a world of unknowns.”
Danielle thought her diagnosis was a death sentence. While her tumor was less than a centimeter in size, it was classified as invasive.
“For me, the waiting was the worst part,” Danielle said. “I felt like my life was about to end while I was forced to just keep waiting on results, waiting on appointments. You feel helpless.”
Fortunately, her tumor was not extremely aggressive and her doctors assured her that she had the time to make an informed decision on her treatment. This time allowed her the chance to better cope with her diagnosis while planning her course of action.
Danielle ended up deciding that a bi-lateral mastectomy was the best option for her. She went through with the surgery on August 21. Because of the early detection of the tumor, the surgery was able to successfully remove it all and allowed Danielle to avoid chemotherapy and radiation.
Since then, Danielle has taken several precautions to help lower that risk of the cancer returning. She is currently weighing the options of different medications that help lower the risk of reoccurrence in cancer survivors.
Her experience has been life changing in other ways, as well. Since her surgery, she has taken strides to improve her everyday life, including nutritional habits.
“I knew that I needed to take all the precautions I could,” Danielle said. “I try my best to keep the stress in my life to a minimum, as well as just trying to have the best quality of life I can.”
This focus on altering lifestyles to lower the risk of breast cancer is something Danielle hopes other women will make a priority as well. While none of the measures taken can guarantee protection from cancer, they have been proven to reduce the risk of developing this life-threatening disease.
